Improvement in the manufacture of paper-pulp from wood



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. f

CHARLES MARZONI, OF NEI/V YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO J. GANDOLFO.

IMPROVEMENT lN THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER-PULP FROM WOOD.

Speciiication forming part of Letters Patent No. 22,401, dated December `21, 1858.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES MARZONLlate of Brescia, in the Province of Lombardy, Italy, but at present of the city of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in the Machinery, Means, Apparatus, and Process for Converting the Fiber of Wood into Pulp for Making Paper; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanyin g drawings and letters of reference thereon, making part of this my specification.

In the drawings herein referred to, Figure I is a side elevation of the machine, the

' wooden cover and receiving-pan being removed. Fg. II is a vertical cross-section through the center of the machine, cover, and pan. Fig. III is a top view. Figs. IV andV represent an elevation and top view of the wooden cover or cylindrical box within which the wood is operated upon and the circular case of thin metal under the box. Figs. VI and VII represent an elevation and plan of the circular pan for receiving the pulp as it is produced.

In all the figures the same letters represent the same parts..

The nature of my invention consists in the abrasion or tearing of the woody ber from the surface of the wood by means of a peculiar stone made to operate withavery rapid rotation upon the surface of the wood, in combination with the use of steam and of hot water while the process of converting the wood into pulp is carried on, the fiber o f the wood being thus comminuted into minute particles adapted to its direct transformatlon into a suitable pulp for the manufacture of papen The machinery by which the operation 1s carried on is of an extremely simple character. Its construction is as follows:

In the center of a strong square frame of timbersA AAA of suitable size and strength (giving an inclosed space of about twelve feet square) is placeda vertical iron shaft or spindle B, having its upper bearing C upon a strong cross-timber across the top of the frame and its lower bearing upon "a pivot c, the lower end of the shaft being made with a socket b to set upon the pivot, and the pivot restmg upon and firmly secured to a pedestal or block underneath.

Around the lower extremity of the shaft B is placed the brass box d, made in sections of semi-cylinders and firmly fixed to a baseblock or bed-plate, but made so as to be adjusted nicely to the shaft by means of setscrews c e c c on the sides and below, the object of these last-described arrangements being to give steadiness to the shaft and strength to its lower bearings sufiicient tosustain the strain upon them.

Upon the upper end of the shaft B is placed a driving-pulley f, to which aband is attached from the prime mover, by which rotation is to be given to the shaft and the stone attached to it. This consists of the millstone C, which in form much resembles ordinary millstones, but in its nature and texture is peculiar, and so far as I am able to discover I am the first person who has discovered the application and adaptability of this stone to the purpose of making pulp from wood to be made into paper. This stone is of the kind named adamantine, and its structure is such that it presents upon its surface sharp points, angles, and cutting-edges, which do not wear smooth, but, as used in my process, presents to the wood fresh points, angles, and edges, which abrade and tear the wood and its fibers into extremely thin and minute lamine@ or flakes having broken yand irregular surfaces and edges, which mingle and adhere together as pulp when mixed and soaked in hot water. This stone C is cylindrical and is supported and strengthened by a strong conical-shaped disk-plate D, tted and fastened to its lower surface, and which is strongly secured to the shaft by arms and a ring and flange upon the shaft, as seen at f g, Fig. III. The central part of the stone is an open circular space about half the diameter of the stone, as shown at h, Fig. II. The stone should be of sufficient thickness togiveitstrength,solidity,and force, so as to bear arotation of about one hundred and eighty revolutions in a minute. The upper surface of' the stone should be iiat and even. Over and around the sides of the stone is placed the circular wooden box or cover E, Figs. II, IV, and V. This cover is open at the center to admit the play of the shaft, and also a spout or tube for conducting hot water to the stone, as hereinafter described, and the cover is iitted to the stone so as to allow it to rotate freely without touching it. It is supported and held in place by brackets fastened to the diagonal frame-pieces A AA. A', Fig. III.

In the top of the coyer E are the square openings seen at l 2 3 Il, Figs. III, IV, and V. These openings are boxes with their sides extending to quite near the upper surface of the stone. These boxes are for the purpose of receiving the square block of wood to be operated upon bythe stone. The wood to be operated is to be cut ,into square shaped vblocks or cubes, as seen at 5, Fig. I, of a suitable size, say, about twelve inches square, the size of the boxes l 2 3 4 being also ,adapted to the blocks so as to hold them and at the same time permit them to slide down upon the stone until they are used up.

For the purpose of holding the blocks of WoodV down upon the surface of the stone a square wooden follower 6 is used, to which is fastened the vertical rod 7, which is attached by a pin to the arm or lever 8, attached at one end to a cross-timber and its opposite and loose end having attached to it the weight 9, which is graduated so as to press down the block of wood at all times to a close contact with the upper surface of the stone while revolving. These weights are to be graduated according to the size of the blocks, the hardness of the wood used, and the degree of fineness required for the pulp, it being understood that the greater the pressure upon the blocks the greater will be the quantity of pulp, but of a coarser quality. From the sides of the frame project brackets ll, which are adjusted so as to arrests the descent of the follower and block of wood at the point Where the block is nearly consumed by the abrasion of the stone.

For the purpose of conducting and distributing a steady supply of hot water upon the surface of the stone and to the Wood the pipe or conduit H is arranged so as that its lower part will form a circle over and parallel with the surface of the stone. This circular part of the pipe is pierced with holes,

so as to be sieve-like and to throw jets of wa-` found to be white pine.- This wood should be steamed in a vessel containing some hot wa-4 ter for about half an hour before being operated upon, whereby the brous texture of the wood is softened and expanded, so asto be easier abraded and to produce afner quality of pulp, and the water used in the reduction of the wood to pulp should be of the temperature of about 21.2 Fahrenheit. The blocks of wood should always be cut and placed in the boxes, so that the stone will operate upon them in the direction of the grain of the wood. The wood should be seasoned before being steamed, and should be free of bark and divested of knots.

Nithin and under the box E is placed the cylindrical case K, which surrounds the stone and keeps the pulp and water from dying outside -the receiving-pan below. This receiving-pan L is' placed directly under the stone, an d it is made with a rim or ange to t round the lower bearings of the shaft, as seen at L', Fig. Il. This pan is formed with a spout Z, Fig. VII, which carries off the pulp as fast as it fills the pan, which it does by falling from the stone above as it is produced from the Wood and hot water.

The water used for wetting the stone is to be kept as near the boiling-point as can be while the machine is in operation, and the flow should be constant and plentiful, as well to keep the pulp saturated as to prevent the wood .from taking tire by the friction of the stone, as it would do if suffered to get dry.

The stone to be used for the purpose above described is of the kind used in the model. It is known to mineralogists under the name of adamantine,7 and resembles somewhat quartzite, though harder than that stone. So far as I am able to ascertain, this species of stone has not been found in the United States, nor, so far as I know, in any country except in the Kingdom of VVurtemburg, in Germany.

The pulp produced by the process and machinery herein described does not require the addition of any foreign ingredient for making it into paper; but thel pulp thus produced will have coarser and finer portions, which should be separated for making paper of particular qualities, and for which purpose I have invented machinery for which I intend hereafter to apply for Letters Patent of the United States.

Having thus describe my machinery, apparatus, and process for converting wood into pulp for making paper, what I claim as my invention therein is as follows:

l. The use and application of the peculiar stone called adamantine within described when used as a means of tearing the woody liber into a state suitable for pulp for paper, as described, by rotation or any other substantially similar manner.

2. I do not claim steaming the wood, nor the use merely of hot water; but I claim the combining the use of the hot water at the boiling-point of 212o Fahrenheit with the and arms, rods, and. Weights 7 8 9, by which stone in rotation while acting upon the wood the blocks of Wood are fed and heid to the simultaneously and continuously, so as that surface of the stone.

the hot Water and akes 0r particles of Woody CHARLES MARZONI. fiber immediately become limited iuto pulp. Witnessesz 3. The apparatus consisting of the cover or J. B. STAPLES,

box E, the boxed openings therein l 2 3 4, GEORGE W. FOX. 

